Brush-tailed phascogale

Phascogale tapoatafa

Blamed on foxes

IUCN status: Near Threatened

EPBC Predator Threat Rating: Not assessed

IUCN claim: “Predation by the red fox is also a threat”

Studies in support

Phascogale remains were found in <1% of fox scats (Pascoe et al. 2012).

Studies not in support

Phascogale persisted at low abundance as fox abundance increased, but no statistical analysis, control, or other variables were tested for (Wayne et al. 2017).

Is the threat claim evidence-based?

There are no studies linking foxes to brush-tailed phascogale populations.

Evidence linking Phascogale tapoatafa to foxes. Systematic review of evidence for an association between Phascogale tapoatafa and foxes. Positive studies are in support of the hypothesis that foxes contribute to the decline of Phascogale tapoatafa, negative studies are not in support. Predation studies include studies documenting hunting or scavenging; baiting studies are associations between poison baiting and threatened mammal abundance where information on predator abundance is not provided; population studies are associations between threatened mammal and predator abundance. See methods section in [current submission] for details on evidence categories.

References

Current submission (2023) Scant evidence that introduced predators cause extinctions.

IUCN Red List. https://www.iucnredlist.org/ Accessed June 2023

Pascoe, J.H., Mulley, R.C., Spencer, R. and Chapple, R., 2012. Diet analysis of mammals, raptors and reptiles in a complex predator assemblage in the Blue Mountains, eastern Australia. Australian Journal of Zoology, 59(5), pp.295-301.

Wayne, A.F., Maxwell, M.A., Ward, C.G., Wayne, J.C., Vellios, C.V. and Wilson, I.J., 2017. Recoveries and cascading declines of native mammals associated with control of an introduced predator. Journal of Mammalogy, 98(2), pp.489-501.